Riven Maple

I believe that there are two types of leaders. First you have your loud leaders; they’re do-ers. They are very vocal, with pep talks, leading discussions, energizing those around them, and sharing opinions. They tend to be charismatic and if the group needs a spark of motivation, they’re the ones to light it. Think of someone like Iron Man or Captain America from the Marvel universe. They both have strong morals, look after the team, guide the game-plan, and encourage teamwork. Quiet leaders, however, are harder to recognize. They tend to watch from the sidelines and gently urge those around them in a new direction in hopes of helping them find their way. While they don’t usually like to lead discussions, they help guide them. They also tend to to help refocus the group if need be. Think of Violet from the Incredibles. She tends to stay in the background most of the time, putting out small encouragements but shows up to support her family when she’s needed. I consider myself to be a quiet leader. My favorite way of doing that is to be a mentor. And that’s exactly what I do. I am a “Big” at Big Brothers Big Sisters. Every Tuesday, I meet with my little and we spend about a half an hour doing whatever we can in the time we’re given. We play games, talk through problems, discuss interests and passions and adventures. Most importantly, we look after each other by doing something fun. For example, since we couldn’t hang out for Halloween, Laela, my little, gave a tutorial on how to draw a pumpkin and I taught her how to draw a ghost. This was one of the most powerful moments I’ve had with her because I could see the influence I’ve had on her. This artifact shows how I choose to lead. The connection that we made was so important because in spite of not seeing each other, we still made the most with what we had around and some really great memories. Growing up, I was always around kids my age or adults, but I never really had someone in the middle. I feel like my friends didn’t take anything seriously (which isn’t surprising at age 11) and the adults were more focused on what I could or couldn’t do. So I decided to be that person for a kid. I wanted to be someone that was still learning, but knew enough to give advice. I wanted to be the cool older kid that they could talk to if they had a problem or the one they could count on to brighten their day. Most importantly, I wanted to make a difference, even if it was small. Because everyone deserves a role model, and a (not-so-big) big kid to help make things seem a little smaller.